Mia drank and smiled and encouraged her staff. Yet she knew there was a difficult fight ahead. She vowed to lead her team to success. She couldn’t let James get in her way. He wasn’t in control anymore, not in her business or her life.
Chapter 8
Mia wasn’t far from Ryker’s thoughts. He’d arranged for Caleb and his crew to stay close and watch for any signs of trouble. There had been a phone call that had appeared to upset Mia, so he planned to ask about that.
Meanwhile, Ryker had been at headquarters tending to business. As the cofounder, he had a vested interest in the company. Black Swan was expanding at a rapid rate, as there was an increasing demand for executive protection.
That was good for business but had been keeping Ryker away from Mia. He’d called to invite her to dinner. It was time to catch up and find out what the phone call that day had been about.
Ryker continued to stay in Mia’s guestroom at night, but she’d been very busy and appeared stressed. He didn’t bug her by asking; she’d tell him when she was ready. It didn’t pay to interfere, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t keep a close eye on her.
The bickering between them was at a minimum, partially because of so few chances to talk. That’s another thing Ryker could remedy at dinner. The truth was that he looked forward to seeing Mia. She was a special woman, and he couldn’t deny that he was drawn to her.
One advantage to getting immersed in his duties was that it allowed for separation from her. As much as Ryker liked being around Mia, he dared not take that too far. He had his boundaries and intended to stick to them.
Letting his heart get involved would only lead to trouble. He’d had love in his life once and lost it. He saw no reason to chance that again. Yet he desired Mia. He just couldn’t let her know that, so he’d been on his best, most professional behavior.
It was his job to protect Mia, so that was where Ryker needed to focus. He cared enough about her to put her safety first. And he was duty-bound, something he didn’t take lightly. His responsibilities came first, putting his personal feelings in second place—although not as remote as he would have liked.
Ryker left early to go home and change clothes. He dressed comfortably, yet appropriate for a dinner date. It mattered what Mia thought, which was also something new. He rarely cared about such things. On the way downtown to pick her up, he looked forward to seeing her.
*****
Ryker waited for Mia at reception, but it wasn’t long before she came out. On one side, her stylish hair was swept up into a gold clip. She wore a cream-colored jacket with flowing slacks that looked more like a skirt than pants.
Whatever Mia wore seemed to suit her. She had a knack for choosing smart casual wear, an ambiguous description for the polished yet relaxed way she dressed. Ryker imagined that she had a lot of practice putting together outfits.
Mia hadn’t needed to go home to change for dinner, because she looked as designer-perfect at her office as she did privately. Or maybe it was just that Ryker was enamored with her. How she presented herself, her demeanor, her confidence—all of it was attractive.
“You look nice,” Ryker said, keeping his reaction subdued.
Mia smiled. “That’s kind of you.”
Ryker looked at reception to find Iris watching. “Make sure she gets some downtime. Mia has been overworking. Don’t let her cool, calm attitude fake you out.”
Mia grinned. “Never mind Iris. She’s been working as much as I have.”
Ryker escorted Mia to the car, paying attention to what was around them. He didn’t pick up any indication of danger, but that didn’t prevent him from staying alert. He was on duty, as pleasurable an assignment as that might be.
During the drive, Mia talked about the last couple of days, without mentioning any upsetting phone call. It looked like Ryker would have to bring it up. He’d wait until she’d had a drink, hoping she’d be more willing to open up to him about any distress.
She tried to be so tough, making Ryker want to shoulder some of the burden, if she’d let him. The restaurant had an outdoor patio, which would be a good place to chill out. Mia would get that downtime Iris had mentioned.
Ryker followed her to a table in the garden setting. He tried to quell his attraction, but it was useless. Mia was a gorgeous, brilliant, caring woman. His admiration for her grew by the day. He was on dangerous ground and he knew it.
The restaurant used local ingredients and had a list of unique signature cocktails. Mia sat across from him on the open-air veranda, appearing pleased with his choice to eat there. She glanced over at the greenery that surrounded the patio. “What a lovely garden. This is a great place to escape from the bustle of Center City. I’ll have to remember to come here again.”
The place was crowded and noisy, filled with business types who worked nearby. It seemed to be an after-work hangout. “What will you have?” Ryker said.
“I think I’ll have a mimosa. I know those are Sunday brunch fare, but I rarely go out then.”
Once the orders were placed, Mia said, “You’re having a beer?”
“I thought I would. It’s a low-alcohol one, not likely to put me out of commission.”
“It better not. You’re my guard for the evening. Caleb will get on your case if you screw up.”
It was good to see that Mia was acclimating to having a security detail. He liked it when she was playful, so much more than when she was in a challenging frame of mind. He could handle verbal fencing with the best of them, but he preferred to enjoy an amiable evening.
The drinks arrived, and Ryker leaned back with his beer, content to look at Mia. She talked for a bit, about nothing in particular. He found he could listen to her for hours on end, although he hadn’t had the chance to put that to the test.
When Mia was halfway through her drink, Ryker took the plunge. “I need to ask you a question. Was there a phone call that upset you?”
“Caleb can’t keep a secret, can he?” Mia said, then proceeded to tell him about her conversation with James. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem reluctant to relay what had happened. “Not only did he refuse to confess that he’d firebombed my car, he threatened me. He will counter my efforts with the Board of Education.”
“If physical violence won’t gain your compliance then he’s not above using other tactics.”
“I think you’re catching on,” Mia said. “James is cruel and doesn’t value my emotional health anymore than my physical safety. He wants me to obey, so he’s blind to all else.”
Ryker ordered a drink refill for Mia and a Coke for himself. She seemed thoughtful.
“Is there something on your mind?”
“We talk about me a lot of the time,” Mia said. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’d like to know more about your wife—if you’re okay with talking about it.”
“I can tell you more about Amy.” Ryker swallowed hard, affected by grief, even so many years after her death. “But if you want to know how I dealt with the loss…I haven’t. It weighs heavily on my conscience, and I miss her. I suppose that I always will.”
Ryker proceeded to tell Mia about his wife, including how he’d met her at a holiday party. She was a friend of a friend, and he’d liked her from the start. She was warm and sincere, a lovely person. After knowing her for six months, he’d come home on leave and married her.
“It’s been more than ten years since her death,” Ryker said. “It seems…so long ago. She will always have a place in my heart, but I try not to dwell on what could have been.”
Mia listened without comment.
Ryker wasn’t in the habit of talking about his wife’s death, yet he had been okay with sharing some of it with Mia. It occurred to him that in all the years since, Mia was his first close relationship with a woman.
He wasn’t certain that he could move past the loss, but it felt good to tell Mia. For some reason, he wanted her to know about his first love, and sensed that she understood. The meals arrived, inter
rupting their discussion.
Even while talking, Ryker hadn’t abandoned his protection duties. He’d kept an eye on his surroundings, on the patio and beyond. Waitstaff cruised in and out of the main restaurant but exhibited no unusual behavior.
The patrons on the patio filled all the tables, engaged in their own conversations. Ryker observed the others yet didn’t find anyone who appeared out of place. There had been no attention directed at Mia, so the restaurant hadn’t posed any threat.
Then a small light flickered from the sidewalk, probably a camera flash from a distance. The shrubbery along the walkway rustled, but no person was visible. The signs of surveillance alerted Ryker. The activity outside the restaurant had caught his attention. And there was a van across the street that had arrived shortly before. He noted the name of the company, so he could check on its validity.
Dinner was almost over. Ryker hesitated to alarm Mia, but he had to let her know. “Don’t look around, but I think we’re being watched.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “What makes you think so?”
Ryker told her what he’d observed. “The best thing to do is for us to behave normally. Act like you don’t know you’ve been observed. I’d rather keep whoever is watching off guard.”
It was best to get Mia to the car, then home safely. They’d skip dessert at the restaurant, plus there was plenty of ice cream at home. Without revealing any alarm, Mia went to the car with him. Ryker looked ahead for any danger and stayed close to her. If he needed to block an attack, he’d be in an advantageous position.
Once Mia was safely in the car, Ryker got into the driver’s side then locked the doors. The vehicle’s bulletproof windows gave him some piece of mind, but he was intent on getting back to the condo without delay. Until he found out who was behind this, he couldn’t relax.
*****
The next day, Caleb and the team implemented additional strategies for Mia’s safety, while Ryker took steps to uncover what was behind the incident. It could have been a curious fan, but he couldn’t dismiss threats quite so fast.
Hawke agreed that the matter should be taken seriously. “The first step is to discover who is watching Mia. Then we can follow that up and see where it leads.”
“My suspicion is that James is behind this,” Ryker said. “He is the most likely one, so let’s watch him more closely. I’d like to see what he’s up to.”
Right after the bomb incident, surveillance had been set up on James. Watching was ongoing from two vantage points. The first was surveillance on his home, plus monitoring his digital communications, as much as Jake was able to.
The second observation point was from protection agents who blended in with his normal activities. Whether he was going to lunch or stopping at the drugstore, agents traded off following him. That way it wasn’t the same men, making it difficult to spot—not that James was savvy about such clandestine activities.
Ryker spoke with Jake. “I need to know about his contacts, any phone calls, emails…anything that would shed light on his activities at present.”
A more in-depth workup would be done on James, meant to uncover his strategy before he was able to implement any damaging plan. Before that was achieved, Ryker learned that the camera flash he’d spotted was someone photographing Mia eating dinner with him.
The pictures made a splash across social media then went viral before Ryker could blink an eye. It was Ryker having dinner with a client, but the posts announced that he was dating her. The new man in her life was a repeating theme in numerous threads.
That night, Ryker tried to reassure Mia, to no avail.
“Are you kidding me?” Mia said. “It’s an invasion of privacy. I don’t care if I was dating you…which I am not. It’s nobody’s business.”
Ryker stared at the images on his phone. It did look romantic. He’d been deep in conversation, and Mia’s expression was emotional. The photos of the intimate discussion gave the wrong impression. He hadn’t spotted the cameraman soon enough.
“I know it was James,” Mia said, anger flashing in her eyes. “It had to be.”
“I’m assuming he hired an investigator to follow you around,” Ryker said. “I expect confirmation on that from Jake.”
“My ex-husband has the nerve to employ a PI so he can keep tabs on every move I make.” Mia expelled a breath.
“With that important board meeting only days away, I imagine he wants any ammunition he can get.”
“Well, I certainly gave him some,” Mia said. “But it’s not a crime to date. The divorce is final in a month. Even if I was going out with you, what’s the big deal?”
“You’re a celebrity, as far as your supporters are concerned,” Ryker said. “Snooping into your private life is common practice, so I’m not surprised the pictures went viral.”
“What does James hope to gain by that?”
That question was promptly answered, as the aggravating situation took a turn for the worse.
“Take a look at this,” Ryker said, handing his phone over.
“Oh my God. He wouldn’t! He can’t.” But he had.
James had posted that he was shocked and hurt by Mia’s behavior. That wouldn’t have been so bad. But he’d posted more photographs that he claimed had fallen into his hands.
“Those are fake,” Mia said. “That just didn’t happen.”
The pictures were of Ryker and Mia, showing them doing various things together that they hadn’t done. It took nerve to perpetrate such lies. The altered photos wouldn’t go undetected. Photoshopped images would be obvious to a trained eye.
“I know this is all a lie…and you know it,” Ryker said. “The problem is that proving the photos are fake may not resolve the issue. The outcome depends less on that, and more on what the public wants to believe.”
“It’s more scandal to go with what James has alleged,” Mia said. “I fear that denying it will only make it worse.”
If one was to believe what James had posted, then Mia had been seeing Ryker for quite a while. In fact, Ryker was responsible for breaking up her marriage. He was maligned for his role as protector, because he was the one Mia needed protection from.
It was a nightmare. The attempt to trash Mia’s reputation had pulled Ryker into the mess. He hadn’t been careful enough; he’d given the enemy opportunity, and James had taken it. It would be assumed that Mia was untrustworthy and had betrayed her husband’s faith in her.
Even in an age where divorce was not uncommon, the public was quick to point a finger at a celebrity or public figure for moral transgressions. What was presented for public examination rarely held up well.
“It will make it worse if you try to explain,” Ryker said. “Any defense will only look like an admission of guilt.”
It was amazing how fast news travelled via social media. It seemed that no sooner had James posted his vile allegations than others jumped into the controversy. Questions abounded about how Mia met Ryker, why was he in charge of her security, was he after Mia’s money, and the list went on.
At every turn, James embellished the false claims, creating more questions and more doubt. His backstabbing approach to make Mia buckle to his will had created havoc in the span of hours.
“Do you realize what all of this will sound like to the Board of Education?” Mia said. “They don’t live in a cave. The members read this stuff. And don’t think that James won’t use it to his best advantage. He will attend that meeting and pretend innocence. He’ll play the part of the injured husband, abandoned by his wife after a year…his adulterous wife.”
Mia flopped onto the sofa then covered her eyes. “I hate him. I really do.”
“He will make a mistake,” Ryker said. “He’s making bold moves, taking risks.”
Mia looked at him. “You don’t know James like I do…what he’s gotten away with, how clever he can be. He can turn anything to his advantage. I’ve seen him do it, over and over.”
Ryker had no doubt of the truth of her s
tatement. One thing was certain: he was going to attend the board meeting with Mia. He’d do all he could to protect her, yet he’d discovered that physical protection wasn’t all there was to ensuring her safety.
Chapter 9
One morning, Mia met Iris for coffee. She needed to vent, as things had gotten out of control. The trendy café was close to the office, had good coffee, and even roasted the beans on site. The décor was gray and white, with flowered wallpaper and marble counters.
The place was one of Mia’s favorites. She sat at a wooden table, sipping her latte and chatting. Iris was a good listener, and she offered valuable input. With everything going on, it was a high-voltage situation. Security wasn’t far—that day, Caleb and his guys had the shift.
“All the news about you lately has caused quite a sensation,” Iris said.
“It doesn’t seem to stop.” Mia sighed. “No sooner than I recover from one drama, something else happens.”
“And James is flat-out lying.”
“What else is new?” Mia said. “That’s him. He can lie like no one else I’ve known. I wish I hadn’t met him.”
“But adultery…really?” Iris rolled her eyes. “That’s something he’s capable of. In fact, I’d be more inclined to believe he was talking about himself than about you.”
“Oh, please,” Mia said. “He wouldn’t admit any wrongdoing; it was always me.”
“How did Ryker take it?”
“He took it in stride,” Mia said. “What else could he do? And he tried to calm me down, but it’s my life we’re talking about. I won’t be pushed around. I refuse to permit it.”
“James is transgressing boundaries. If he doesn’t watch it—”
“No, he’s too clever,” Mia said. “That’s what’s so aggravating. He gets away with this stuff.”
“How is it going with Ryker?”
Mia took a sip of her drink, thinking that over. “You mean that he’s staying at the condo? I feel safer, under the circumstances. But you’re my best friend, so I can tell you…he is a very attractive man.”
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